C. Raja Mohan Review

C. Raja Mohan has reviewed my book Chinese and Indian Strategic Behavior, co-authored with Eric Heginbotham.

Mohan writes,

Much like Harold Isaacs in the late 1950s, George Gilboy and Eric Heginbotham set out to challenge a dominant assumption in the current American debate on the geopolitics of Asia.

The heart of the book is a solid and very valuable empirical assessment of the international behavior of China and India since the middle of the 20th century. Its political realism is refreshing.

While this insightful volume is addressed to American audiences, it should also help the Indian strategic community develop a pragmatic view of the possibilities and limitations of the partnership with the U.S. in coping with the rise of China.

Eric and I are gratified by Mohan’s comparison of our work to Harold Isaacs’ book, Scratches on Our Minds: American Views of China and India. Both of us have a long way to go before we can be considered in Isaacs’ league. But we have a delightful if indirect personal connection to Isaacs in addition to any intellectual comparison. Isaacs’ book (and a meeting with Isaacs himself) provided the inspiration that lured our teacher at MIT, Richard Samuels, away from engineering and into the field of comparative politics and international security. So for us, no Harold Isaacs = no Richard Samuels = no Ph.D’s. We’re grateful for the connection!